Alpine DVA-7996R

I recently bought this Alpine DVA-7996R Car DVD Player unit after having searched for a long time.. Its the only 1 of its kind, a competition head unit with 6 channel 4volt pre-outs, with active crossover. The 7996r also plays mp3's and DVD's. I was surprised to find there are no on screen menu's tho. A lot of reading to be done in the book too, not all of the setup procedure is easy to figure out on your own, so definately read the book, and dont lose it.

Having replaced a dvd head unit with this one, I had something to compare it to, there is a noticeably sharper picture and zero interference in the screen when turned up loud. You will need seperate amplifiers for ALL speakers, as the unit ONLY has rca outputs. Having the ability to decode dolby digital 5.1 and DTS (optical output) there is nothng missing from a sound perspective, although obviously a centre speaker will need a bit of enthusiasm and initiative to fit to the car :)

the unit is face removable, and doesnt need a code.... so take it with you, the unit is discontinued and is almost impossible to replace. Alpine do not seem to have replaced the unit with another (only seem to do dvd player seperate, to use in conjunction with normal cd head unit). The face is motorised, and has up to 45 degree angle, if you unit happens to be fitted low down in the dash. It seems to heat up ALOT, almost to the point of not being handable. I noticed there is no heatsink on the rear of the unit, but a fan instead. be sure to clear the back of the unit of wires, as you will have alot of phono leads in there, make a point of clearing the rather large dc 4v converter from the rear of the unit. At the end of the day, this unit is for an enthusiast, and semi-proffesional. by replacing your head unit with this one, you will need external amplifiers for all speakers, and a substantial subwoofer to see any real benefit.

Sound quality is not something anyone will find a problem... as the amplifiers are set up, the head unit crossover is a fantastic function. With a time delay, and seperate speaker volume control to give the sound of equally distanced speakers (as the driver sits so close to thier door speaker).

I didnt find the Media Xpander much use, it enhances mid range a lot, and there are many presets for it... but when used, cannot be turned to full volume as there is a lot of pressure on the mid-high range. custom setup is probably best idea. you can set high pass and low pass filters, gain and frequency from the headunit. especially handy for mp3's when they usually dont all have the same sound properties (unless you rip them all yourself from cd).

I have played a DVD Rom full of mp3's and its fine, a lot of music in there :). but it DOES NOT play DVD-RW rom. Havent tried a film on rewriteable dvd yet though, but book says it will play cd-rw.